Free Voters: Special unit to protect Bavaria from bears
A Bavarian armed bear readiness should reportedly ensure law and order in the forest and woods in the future, according to the wish of a Bavarian district administrator. This idea has met cautious excitement at the Environmental Ministry in Munich. "It's important that, given the existing legal framework, we can react quickly in case of an emergency," said a ministry spokesperson. "In case of an emergency, all measures come into play. That includes shooting." The letter with the demands of the Upper Allgäu district administrator Indra Baier-Müller is still being reviewed.
The municipal politician of the Free Voters in Bavaria had written to her party friend, Bavaria's Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber, calling for the establishment of an armed Bavarian bear readiness unit. This unit should be responsible for dealing with the harassment and killing of bears and always ready for action, proposed the district administrator. Baier-Müller had founded the initiative Brown Bear a year ago due to a series of bear sightings in Southern Bavaria, to network the responsible parties in the Alpine regions of Bavaria.
However, the Environmental Ministry pointed out that, according to the experts at the Bavarian State Office for the Environment, it is not to be expected that bears will settle permanently in Bavaria. "There is currently no evidence of a bear in Bavaria," said a ministry spokesperson. In the current situation, it goes mainly about observation, information, and prevention, to prevent cattle maiming.
The last bears seen in Bavaria are believed to have come from Northern Italy and temporarily also roamed in the Free State. In the Italian province of Trentino, there are now approximately 100 brown bears due to a reintroduction project.
Role model Italy?
It has been legal in the Trentino region of Italy since March to shoot up to eight bears annually if they have become dangerous. Animal rights activists are outraged. Previously, there were high bureaucratic hurdles for the shooting of the animals.
In Slovakia, estimates suggest that around 1,300 brown bears live there. Intervention teams are only deployed when there are dangerous encounters between humans and bears. The focus is on education and prevention, such as ensuring that garbage containers are closed to prevent bears from being attracted to houses. If bears have lost their fear, euthanasia may be necessary. The teams are subordinate to the Environment Ministry.
In the Czech Republic, only a few brown bears are believed to live there, which inhabit the Beskid Mountains in the eastern part of the country. Brown bears have been extinct in the Bohemian Forest at the German-Czech border since the 19th century.
The proposal for an armed Bavarian bear readiness unit by district administrator Indra Baier-Müller has sparked interest in local politics, as she suggests it could follow the example set by Italy's Trentino region, where lethal action against dangerous bears is allowed under certain circumstances. However, the environmental ministry in Bavaria stresses that they prioritize prevention and observation, as there's currently no evidence of a bear residing in the state.
